


Fire, Fear, and Fight

by queer_acacia



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:33:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24886150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queer_acacia/pseuds/queer_acacia
Summary: Helsknight has some time to think after his fight with his doppelganger, and his home is changing around him. Choices have to be made.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 86





	Fire, Fear, and Fight

Helsknight could feel the Nether around him begin to change. Strange trees were beginning to grow, colored in a strange pink and blue. They were entangled with odd vines, and they seemed to give off a small amount of light that put him on edge, though he didn’t know why. The Pigmen were now more pig-like, their faces sprouting tusks and growing long ears. They spoke in strange grunts and snorts that only they could understand. The only word he could slightly make out was “Piglin,” so that’s what he began to call them.

The fire that usually consumed the world now glowed blue when it hit soul sand, which itself had started to spread miles and miles through the Nether, creating valleys that were a pain to trudge through. When he breathed, the air felt heavy, and he found it more useful to cover his mouth with a scrap of cloth than risk getting whatever was in the air in his lungs.  
He looked out over the horizon, where a fortress had been built, seemingly overnight, by the Piglins. It was made out of a gray material that looked like cobblestone, but was much heavier and had a different texture. He kept his sword in his hand, just in case some strange creature tried to jump him; he had found that being defenseless when being around the Piglin’s horrible beasts was not a very good idea.

The place he had known for so long was beginning to morph and change around him, and he was powerless to do anything about it.

He closed his eyes, gripping tightly at the hilt of his iron sword. The sword had been a gift from his friend. He could still remember the two of them running through the barren wasteland of the Nether, scrounging around for any food they could find and digging through the loot of the many Nether fortresses that littered the landscape every so often. 

He couldn’t remember when the Nether portal appeared, or how they found it. Ex decided to test it out, and when Hels tried to go in after him, he found that he couldn’t. Ex was gone for what felt like months, and when he came back, Hels was subjected to him babbling on about someone not liking his gifts, and about there being a doppelganger to him that wore green— Hels had to console him for some time after that, and even managed to convince BadTimes to help him out. 

He began to leave every now and again and would come back telling the two about his adventures in the Overworld and the many ways he was messing with his double, who they discovered was named Xisuma. One time he came back in pink clothing, going on about a “Worm Man” that he thought was really cool because he was a superhero and wanted to be just like him. He even brought back a few interesting characters: a robot he called “NPC Grian” who he had found in a storage room, and a man with gray skin and a ponytail dressed in black robes who had separated from another Hermit after he’d been revived after death. Hels didn’t mind the company— rather, he enjoyed the company the two brought. NPCG always talked about making rustic houses, and Grim was always talking about the fragile mortality of humanity, but they were fun to be around nonetheless. 

One day, Ex went through the portal.

He never came back through. 

Hels tried to go through the portal again, but he would only step through the purple fog without going anywhere. He only realized that Ex was truly gone when the portal one day mysteriously disappeared. He sat down where the portal was for days, taking naps every so often and eating the food that the others would bring out to him. Nothing ever changed. The portal never reappeared. He had to accept that Ex truly was gone. 

It had been months when the second portal appeared. Hels had been out exploring the strange forest that had seemingly appeared overnight when he came across a decimated portal that suddenly lit up in that oh-so-familiar purple. He stepped closer, feeling like the portal was somehow… calling him. He drew his sword as he stepped through. 

The sudden sunlight blinded him, so he squinted, trying to let his eyes adjust. The sky above him was a bright blue, a glowing orb above his head. Nearby, a house stood, built with a yellow-ish material. He knew exactly where he was. The Overworld. 

He heard footsteps nearby, and he quickly ran for cover behind a small tree. The figure that entered his vision looked like him, but with blue eyes instead of red, blond hair instead of brown, and unstained iron armor unlike his own that was covered in soot that refused to come out no matter how hard he scrubbed. It had to be his doppelganger, he just knew it. 

Then the anger began to settle in. He was one of them. Those stupid Hermits that pulled his best friend out of his arms without a second thought. The very notion of the idea made his insides burn with a fire he had never felt before. He had to make them pay. He didn’t care who he hurt. He would make them all pay for what they did. 

Hels shifted, and the sudden pain that spiked up near his shoulder was enough to bring him back to reality. The fight hadn’t gone as planned, and he was forced to retreat back to the Nether. It had taken time for him to find BadTimes and listen to his scolding as he bandaged Hels’s battle wounds. NPC had asked him if he saw any rustic houses while he was out. Grim had stayed silent, instead eyeing the blue blood that stained the knight’s armor before leaving for his room. 

Hels turned his head when he heard footprints approaching him, his grip at his sword tightening in case he needed to prepare for a fight; his grip loosened again when he realized it was only BadTimes. The older man stopped next to Hels, watching the particles from the ceiling float down the ground. Neither of them spoke, for the time being, just letting the comfortable silence sit between them. 

“Those piglins sure do enjoy the soot, don’t they?” BadTimes commented, breaking the silence between them. Hels noticed a smaller piglin that was sitting in a pile of soot and playing in it like a child playing in the sand. “Almost like they were born from the fire. Odd, isn’t it? So much can change in such little time.”

Hels nodded, his armor clanking a little with his movement. “Felt like it happened overnight, honestly. Those forests, and the soul sand valleys, and these bastions… it’s weird. Didn’t there used to just be netherrack here?”

BadTimes nodded, turning his head to look at Hels. His bad eye stayed dormant, while his good eye stared thoughtfully at Hels’s expression. “You might need a better sword if you go back, you know. Iron doesn’t do much against diamond.”

Hels glanced over to BadTimes, pursing his lips together. “Where would I—”

“Ex wanted me to give you this,” BadTimes said, holding out his usually free hand to Hels. His hand gripped a sword made out of pure diamond, the blue glow casting a strange light against the red under their feet. “He said to save this for a special occasion. I figured getting revenge is important to you.”

Hels put away his own sword before taking the diamond one in his hand. It felt surprisingly light in his hand, and when he gave it a few test swings, he found it to be easy to handle. 

“Also, I’ve heard some rumor about there being a mineral somewhere in this world that’s stronger than diamond. You may want to go looking for it. I don’t want you coming back with more wounds than before.” The older man went back to staring out into the horizon in front of him, a small sigh leaving him. “You do that fighting them won’t—”

“I know it won’t,” Hels interrupted, a new anger in his voice. “I’m doing this in his name, not for him. There’s a difference.” 

BadTimes shook his head a little. “I know I cannot stop you. So I might as well do my best to keep you safe. You know as well as I do that death for us is different than for those who hail from the Overworld. There’s no guarantee that you’ll come back the same if you come back at all.”

Hels said nothing for a moment, then closed his eyes. “I know. But I’m going to do what I can to bring justice for my friend.”

He heard BadTimes sigh once again before turning to leave. “Oh, one more thing— NPC wants your help with building a rustic house. Says he’s gotten inspiration with all of the newfound wood. I’d help, but I can’t do much besides the planning.” With that, he left Hels alone, the sound of his footsteps along with his cane assisting him echoing until Hels couldn’t hear it anymore. 

The silence was just what he needed, he told himself. His mind had to be sharp as ever if he were to go back for a second fight against his double. He was the only thing standing in his way; getting rid of him would assure him victory. Then, he would make everyone else pay. He’d kill whoever took Ex away. He’d make sure every single one of them felt even a fraction of the pain he had felt when he had realized that the only friend he’d ever had would never return. 

Finally, he opened his eyes, and turned to return to his abode. Even knights needed their rest, after all.


End file.
